Latest Comments by topacio

These are my first 8 months as RN.I graduated back on december 2010 and searched for a job for 4months.Finally I got hire for a local community clinic. Salary is excellent they pay me as new grad $2 more dollars than in a hospital, they offer two retirement accounts, my insurance is free (I only have to pay for Doctor visit),offer low cost babysitting benefits,but I am not gaining experiecence as a RN. I only do patient education and I am on the phone 60% of my time scheduling patients visits or diagnosis studies.

I recently got accepted to work for a hospital, salary will be decrease for $0.50 less than my current salary, I have to wait 2 1/2 months to get benefits and for my children to get insurance benefits,only offer 401k retirement,but I will gain a lot of experience as a RN, and will be able to move to different departments if I wish after working for one year in the hospital. What should I do? should I exchange experience for benefits and decrease salary? or should I stay in the clinic with good benefits but gaining not experience?

I recently graduated as RN, and I have being working in a community clinic for 3 months (this is my first job as RN). The benefits are great and pay is excellent!, We have 6 MAs a couple of LVNs and two RNs. As a new grad I feel that I am not learning anything new. I am doing the same job as a MA,basically taking VS,returning pt phone call (lab result,scheduling and refill of Rx). MAs resent the LVNs and RNs since they get pay way less money, and are doing everything that a RN is doing. MDs do all physical assessment and critical thinking. I can not move a finger without consulting the MD.Every little thing is control by MDs even pt education. I feel that I am doing a secretary job more than a RN job. should I stay in this job for a year so I can be consider an "experience nurse" ,or should I start looking for another job in a hospital set in?

I am a new graduate. I have being working for a community clinic for the last 3 months.
We get a lot of patients that are in pain meds for example I had one today that needed refills on
Ultram (tramadol)
flexeril
vicoprofen

He broke his back 7ys ago and has being taking those meds since them. The MD (new MD for the patient) decided to refill only Ultram and flexeril and sent him to a pain management doctor.
The pt was very upset because he also wanted his vicoprofen. The worse part is this MD always send me as messenger to tell this pts that certain pain killers Rx won't be refill by the MD, so I am the one that has to deal with their fit.

Since I don't have experience dealing with long time user pain killers pt's. I am not sure if it was a good idea to get this pt out of vicoprofen. What I understand ultram and vicoprofen taken at the same time seems to be kind of a lot!

Hello:
I finally got a job after 5 months searching as a new graduate. I have a job that I like in a rural clinic, nice schedule, nice pay, I get one hour lunch (even when I dont know when lunch time might be 2pm,3pm). The place is very disorganized. Two of their nurses have work in that place for about 10 years and my preceptor had work in that place for about 6 yrs, but has being a nurse for 25 yrs has a lot of experience. My preceptor basically runs the place, gets on people's faces, tell physician what to do, flirt with the clerks, sits and chat a looottt with the rest of the staff. He gets things done slooowwly, but gets them done, never wash his hands, dont use two patients identifiers to make sure that is the right patient. I am stuck! with this preceptor because the other 2 nurses dont want to be my preceptors. This preceptor looks at me weird when I follow hand washing, two patients identifiers and educate patients for discharge, but I spend about 5 hours at day doing nothing at all because this lazy preceptor will just sit around, and by the end and when he decides starts getting things done, so I get to practice a few of my skills. My training should be done in 4 more weeks, but I am afraid to get into an argument with this lazy preceptor that believes he runs and owns the clinic. What should I do. I really need the job and is very difficult to find a job as a new grad.

If you were a director of nursing in a hospital, LTC, hospice etc etc etc. What will be your proposal to fix unemployment that new graduated RN, LVN experience after graduation; taking in consideration that a LOT! of them get a job after searching for 6months or one year; and how will you keep current RNs working in the facility happy and dont overwork neither stress out. A lot of nurses eat breakfast at 6am and have lunch at 3pm and uses the restroom once maybe twice in a 12hr shift since they are SOOOO busy running from one patient to the next.

Any ideas? I believe all will have to start in having an agreement between school that train new nurses, director of nursing in facilities and hiring managers.

Yes, but isn't that the risk you take with ANY profession you go into. Most of us are going to nursing school because we love the medical field and want to expand and share the knowledge we gain. Nursing is not so much a career yet a privilege, an unspoken understanding you earn from your patients and I personally would not trade that feeling for anything else. Should the students that are studying to be teachers change their major as well because of the cutbacks?

It is great that you think that way, a nurse or any person that works in the medical field should think that way!; What I am saying is to be financially and mentally prepare to wait 6 months up to a year before you can actually start changing the world one patient at the time. If you dont believe me ask the hiring managers while doing your clinical rotations or just call around, ask your instructors.

Just to give you an example; ACC students have to compete to get a job against UT, Texas Tech and Belton graduated nurses. All this RNs hold a bachelor degree. That is what most of the hiring nurses managers are looking for. Even when ACC students graduate with excellent skills is sad when reality hit you on the face. Seton and St David's are the only hospital around the Austin area that hired recently graduated nurses. Seton receives about 1000 applications per year from all this new nurses; and just hired 99-120 per year out of the 1000 applicants; same goes for St davids. Be prepare to wait, call around dont wait until the last semester to start looking for a job, make contacts, at the end what counts if who you know and can get you in to work for a hospital, hospice or LTC facility.

I just want to wish you the best and get prepare to handle the nursing instructors, clinicals, tons of paper work; and at the end be prepare to wait between 6 months up to a year to find a job as newly graduated RN. The job waiting part is what none one will tell you about until is too late to go back and chance your mind before become a nurse!

I just want to wish you the best and get prepare to handle the nursing instructors, clinicals, tons of paper work; and at the end be prepare to wait between 6 months up to a year to find a job as newly graduated RN. The job waiting part is what none one will tell you about until is too late to go back and chance your mind before become a nurse!

I just want to wish you the best and get prepare to handle the nursing instructors, clinicals, tons of paper work; and at the end be prepare to wait between 6 months up to a year to find a job as newly graduated RN. The job waiting part is what none one will tell you about until is too late to go back and chance your mind before become a nurse!

Yes, I agree 2 weeks orientation didnt sound good to me neither. another weird thing with the hospital where I got hired as PRN is that the clinical manager that hired me never return my calls neither my emails with questions that I have about the job. Even thought; he told me to call him or email him if I have any questions about the job. The only ones that return my calls or emails are the HR ladies. It just make wonder how reliable is he as unit manager. I appreciate all your guys replies back to me. As a new grad I need all the advise that I can get from nurses that are already working in the field. You guys can see things and have ideas that I can not see yet. I appreciate it

Thank you so much for your so prompt replies.
I have not experience as RN (new grad), I was told by the hospital that had already hired me they will be giving me a two week orientation and after that I will be pretty much on my own (of course I can always call the charge nurse for help), now the other job will be my dream job; 18 weeks orientation, training classes, but I am not even sure if they will be calling me or not; besides it won't be available until June of July.

I am a newly license nurse in Texas I had being looking for a job since november 2010, I finally got a job offer in a hospital and I should be starting two weeks from now; the pay is really good is a PRN job no benefits, but I have the probabily to go full time once an opening comes around. I went to another interview today to a hospital that offers training, full time hours, benefits and will pay for my bachelors.

The only thing is that they won't give me an answer if I got hired or not until the day that I am suppose to start in the hospital that had already hired me! I can not delay to start in the hospital that already hired me since I was suppose to start two weeks ago, but I hold it since I really wanted to go to this interview hoping in getting hired sooner; even if I get hired in there I won't begin the job three months from now since their position wont be availble until that time.

As I said it has being really hard to find a job in Texas, and I am afraid of not accepting the job that is already sure for some other job that I do not even have an asnwer yet, but I know that the other hospital is a better match for my future.